Ready for Life Ministries

Always Be Ready

Helping all to always be spiritually ready for life—for this life and the next.

Ready for Life Ministries Spiritual Exercise #3

Guided Gospel Meditation of the Rich Young Man

Please allocate an hour of space with no distractions to go through this guided gospel meditation. This meditation is broken down into three phases: an Introductory phase to help you relax and paint the scene of the gospel, a gospel reading phase, and a reflection phase where you encounter Jesus after the reading. You will use your personal reflections from Spiritual Exercises #1-2 and take them to Jesus.

Again, you’re highly encouraged be in a state of grace when going through this exercise and to receive spiritual direction after going through it to ensure that you're being guided by the Holy Spirit. If you have questions, comments, or concerns about these exercises, please email Info@ReadyforLifeMinistries.org.

Below is the written guided gospel meditation that you can use to guide others through the same experience.

Introduction

Having gained all the insight needed from the first 2 spiritual exercises, you will approach Jesus in the Parable of the Rich Young Man. Please close your eyes and breathe deeply. [Breathe.] You are here and present. It is just you and God, and He is showing you a possibility through the creative gift of the imagination He gave you. He wants you to use the gift to deepen your relationship with Him. Inhale slowly and deeply [inhale], then exhale slowly [exhale]. Clear your mind of all distractions by noticing the breath of life He has given you. Be filled with gratitude, peace, and joy that He has given you this opportunity to deepen your relationship with Him. [Breathe.]

You are in ancient Israel under Roman rule, and you’re following Jesus. You can see him in His off-white tunic on this breezy, mostly sunny, warm day. After teaching about marriage and divorce and blessing the children, Jesus is setting out on a journey south to Jerusalem through Paraea, which is east of the Jordan. There is a crowd following Jesus, His disciples, and His apostles. Jesus is still relatively close to the Jordan River. It is visible to the west, which is to the right. There is wild grass bordering the wide dirt path. The grass is tall. Smell the freshness of the air. [Breathe.] Feel and hear the light breeze. Listen to the chatter and murmuring of those all around. You are in the midst of it all. Now choose who you wish to be and where you wish to be in this time, in this place, in this space. You can take the place of any person other than Jesus, the rich man, or the twelve disciples. You can play a silent role as one the apostles, a passerby or a new follower, which can be anyone of any profession, including a Roman soldier. You can simply be yourself as well. Please select your role now. Notice the clothes you have on. Maybe you’re breaking a sweat from walking in the warmth of the sun. Maybe your perspiration is evaporating with the breeze. Your eyes are set on Jesus. Ready yourself… [Breathe.]

 

Gospel of the Rich Young Man

17 As [Jesus is] setting out on a journey, a [young] man [runs] up, [kneels] down before him, and [asks] him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 17 [Jesus answers] him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; 19 honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 [o]The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus, looking at him, [loves] him and [says] to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At that statement [the] face [of the [young] man] fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

23 Jesus [looks] around and [says] to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples [are] amazed at his words. So, Jesus again [says] to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to pass through [the] eye of [a] needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They [became] exceedingly astonished [saying] among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus [looks] at them and [says], “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” 27 Then Peter [says] to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”


Reflection

Please allow God to guide you through the rest of this journey. Whichever role you’re taking on, continue in that role and approach Jesus. You can ask Jesus what you’re still lacking. You can share with him your deepest concerns as they relate to your fears, worries, selfish desires, or ulterior motives and their effects on your salvation. You can share with him how you’ve prioritized various tasks to be the diligent steward, the faithful servant he has called you to be. You can share with him what you’ve envisioned as to how you’ll carry out your apostolic ministry for him in the decades to come. And then you can ask him if your vision of your apostolic ministry is consistent with his, or if he wants you to do it any differently, or if he demands more of you. Now is the time to ask all these kinds of questions. As you raise each concern, listen to Jesus’ tender and loving response to each one. You can respond back to him in dialogue until your concern is fully addressed. Relax and be patient, taking as long as you need to share with him what matters most to you. When you’re done, thank Jesus for everything he has done for you—for today and for everything. [And then open your eyes and remain still until everyone is done.] Please approach Jesus now. 

Source Gospels

Matthew 19:16-30 (NABRE)

The Rich Young Man. 16 Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” 17 He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; 19 honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

Mark 10:17-31 (NABRE)

The Rich Man. 17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’” 20 He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. So, Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to pass through [the] eye of [a] needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “We have given up everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel 30 who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. 31 But many that are first will be last, and [the] last will be first.”

Here you can find a printer-friendly copy of Ready for Life Ministries Spiritual Exercises #3.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns about these exercises, please email Info@ReadyforLifeMinistries.org.